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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. mug — a face
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mug — to rob
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rule — a law
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pit — in a race
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. mug — a cup
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pit — a hole
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rule — government

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com